Companies have new focus on managing consumers’ electricity usage

Today there are 1.9 million homes with energy management networks. We are entering a period of pervasive growth. … We estimate there will be 16.2 million by 2015.

Parks Associates hosted the Smart Energy Summit in Austin last week. It focused on ways to find customers for such services. The three-day affair showed enthusiasm is high among corporations and entrepreneurs, who sense an emerging market. Parks Associates' Director of Research, Bill Ablondi said there were about 75 companies in the market last year, but now there are as many as 250, including such big names as GE, Intel, Verizon and AT&T.

Consumers, however, remain largely in the dark about the possibilities. Smart grid technologies promise to provide big gains in efficiency for electricity generators, transmitters and consumers. That means cost savings, less pollution and fewer power plants.

Integrating information technology into the electric power grid should also make it far easier to connect renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

The technologies should also make it possible to manage a fleet of electric cars so that they can be fueled without putting crushing demands on the system and double as available storage devices for power when parked.

But with electricity prices flat or falling (they were down 11.5 percent last year in Dallas), consumers are not motivated to jump in.

Oncor and other Texas electricity transmission companies have installed more than 3 million smart meters across the state under a mandate from the state government. The meters are providing an ocean of data to the utilities about electricity consumption, but consumers have seen little advantage.

Reliant and TXU Energy can also use the smart meter data to send e-mail alerts to consumers when their electricity usage starts to balloon, along with recommendations on ways to conserve.

A thermostat equipped with wireless radio communications, however, can be configured remotely. TXU Energy offers thermostats that can be programmed from a smart phone.

Parks Associates said energy management systems independent of smart meters would outsell the utility plans for several more years. He estimated that wireless thermostats would grow into a $1.1 billion market by 2015, and that remote-control lighting systems would equal that market.

Speaker after speaker at the conference said the key to this market, however, is raising consumer awareness of the cost savings such systems can bring — without sacrificing comfort or demanding a lot of skill.

To view the full Dallas Morning News Article, click here.

AT&T Announces Smart Grid Agreement with Current Group to Deliver Grid Optimization Solutions to North American Utilities

AT&T announced it is extending its reach with smart grid solutions for utilities throughout the United States with a new agreement with CURRENT Group, a leading provider of distribution Smart Grid solutions.

AT&T will offer CURRENT Smart Grid Distribution Solutions, which help utilities increase grid efficiency and system capacity by managing demand dynamically and reducing power delivery losses. CURRENT’s solutions includes intelligent sensors and analytical software that monitor distribution grid performance; its OpenGrid utility element management system; and its System Optimization and Reliability analytical software solutions. AT&T’s suite of M2M pricing plans designed specifically for the smart grid market makes this solution an economical choice for utilities.

The agreement between AT&T and CURRENT provides utilities with an integrated solution that includes the breadth of AT&T’s managed and network services, combined with AT&T’s mobile broadband network. Having an integrated solution helps utilities to streamline deployment and reduces equipment and maintenance costs.

AT&T offers a range of strategic mobility products and services to the utility industry, including wireless solutions for field service workers, outage detection and remote monitoring for automated metering infrastructure. AT&T’s dedicated team of industry specialists understands the business process from end to end and translates technical solutions into meaningful business value for customers.

CURRENT’s innovative and industry-leading solutions deliver consumer-less energy efficiency through load reduction, improved grid operations, and helps speed the integration and management of renewable energy sources. These solutions can be deployed cost-effectively without large capital expenditures and no retrofitting. Through its dynamic measurement and verification capabilities, CURRENT’s solutions enable utilities to prove energy savings and carbon emission reductions, critical for regulatory compliance and proof of value.

The joint solution offered by AT&T and CURRENT is immediately available throughout North America.

For more information, click here.